Jail escapee to undergo evaluation

A Howell woman who tried to escape jail custody will undergo an examination to determine if she has the ability to understand the wrongfulness of her alleged behavior.

Defense attorney Rolland Sizemore told a Livingston County Circuit Court judge on Friday that his client, Lisa Marie Finlayson, needed an evaluation for criminal responsibility, but he did not elaborate on why.

Judge Michael P. Hatty granted the requested without objection from the prosecution.

Finlayson was charged with escape for fleeing from a deputy on Aug. 3 following a court hearing in Brighton. She was quickly taken into custody after she jumped into the Mill Pond in downtown Brighton.

Finlayson also is charged with absconding after she failed to return to jail following a one-day parole release to have dental work completed.

The Michigan State Police’s fugitive team spent a week looking for her, eventually finding her at a hotel in Romulus.

In August, Finlayson was sentenced to 86 months to 15 years in prison for operating a vehicle with cocaine in her system, causing the death of 51-year-old Lawrence Pettis, of Howell.

She also was sentenced to 72 days already served in the Livingston County Jail for operating a vehicle under the influence with an occupant less than 16 as a passenger.

Michigan State Police said Finlayson’s GMC Sierra pickup struck Pettis’ 1989 Honda Gold Wing motorcycle from behind, and that the victim was dragged under her front bumper until striking a 2002 Toyota Echo driven by a 48-year-old Howell man. Both vehicles and the motorcycle were traveling north on D-19 in a construction zone between Keddle and Francis roads in the area of the former Marion Golf Course in Marion Township on Aug. 18, 2015.

Finlayson is currently housed at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility in Ypsilanti. Her earliest release date is August 2023.